What do I need to buy and what is a waste of money$$

A

amyandlars

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Sep 18, 2006
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So far I've noticed that just about everything the petstore recommends, someone on this board says don't use it, it's not needed. So other than test kits, a chlorine or ammonia remover what else is needed?

I noticed when I stopped in the fish aisle on a no customer time that they were feeding about 80% of the fish orange slices. And the fish were going insane over an orange slice. Some of the tanks with the larger school tiny fish devoured the whole slice in about a minute.
 
Sorry to confuse you! You have to remember that the store is in it to make your money. Plus their employees are usually there for less than 6 months, and make way too little money to care in most cases.

The fresh fruit and veggies are appreciated by many fish. They're great for regularity (e.g. relieve constipation) and provide vitamins. Goldfish especially love orange slices and even like playing with the leftover rinds :) Very cute.

Other than what you've listed, there's not much else I can think of that's necessary. The only thing I add to my water on a regular basis are Prime by Seachem (a tap water conditioner that also detoxifies ammonia). Oh, yeah, and plant fertilizers for my live plants, but tha'ts a different story.

You may find it handy to keep some salt around, in case of ich. I don't keep medications on hand because I don't use them much, and they would probably go bad before I needed them.

Another great thing to have, especially if you have a lot of tanks or larger tanks is a Python No Spill 'n' Fill. It hooks up to your sink to let you drain or refill the tank with an easy turn of a switch.
 
other ideas

Other ideas if you want to give your fish veggies would be romane lettuce and zucchini for tropical fish. If you have goldfish you can also give them peas, just squeeze out the inside of the pea for them. The peas will aid in digestion for goldfish, if a gf ever gets...stopped up...give him peas to help flush him out.

On another note, I wouldn't leave the veggies in the tank for more than 4 hours. The veggies will get soft and go bad.
 
If you ever have issues with high ammonia, nitrItes, or very high nitrAtes, don't buy anything. Just perform a water changes/gravel cleaning. You may need to perform them often. You would be surprised of doing the most simplest, easiest, quickest thing can solve those problems.

If your water has traces of chlorine or chloramine, then I would suggest buying dechlorinator, like Prime, Amquel +, Stress Coat, etc.

You also don't really need carbon either, UNLESS you are trying to remove meds after medicating the fish, due to an illness.

DO get a small tank for quarantine/hospital purposes. If a fish becomes sick, it maybe easier to treat the single fish, instead of the whole entire tank. Also, whenever you bring new fish home, you should quarantine the fish for a few weeks. I would hate to see the new fish you bring home get all the other fish sick or even kill the rest that is in your tank.
 
You will always see a lot of opinions against what is being marketed. There are ways to maintain a tank healthy that do not require the vast quantity of products out there.

Some of them have their usefulness, but most are not needed for routine use or cause more problems than they solve.

The list of products that promise "instant" tank set up, "reducing" tank maintenance/water changes, pH modifiers/buffers, are just not needed.

My list of must haves...

filtration, overfiltrate is best
conditioner for chlorine/chloramine removal
test kits for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH & hardness
gravel vac tube/siphon hose
thermometer/heaters, not for coldwater

My list of must do's...

-frequent water changes
-frequent gravel vacuuming
-do not overfeed
-do not overstock
-a variety of healthy foods
-observation, watch how they are reacting noting changes that may be indications of something else, and just for the enjoyment
 
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^^^^^
Bob's advice is the best you'll find. Simple and direct and absolutely accurate!!!
 
I love it, that means I don't have to buy anymore stuff. I never knew that I would get so addicted to this. What turned out as a simple pet for the kids is kinda getting out of hand. And the thinking behind this question is I just wasted $13 on unneeded ph increaser, I could have bought a 10gal aquarium with that. And I can save money so I can get better lighting for the Betta. Whoo hoo!
 
Now you did it...I diagnose you as officially impaired with MTS...Multiple Tank Syndrome. :dance2:
 
rbishop said:
Now you did it...I diagnose you as officially impaired with MTS...Multiple Tank Syndrome. :dance2:
Click to expand...

What's even worse is my husband is starting to plan his saltwater aquarium. A HUGE 500-700 gal aquarium. Of course we are years away from that. He wants a coral tank and I want seahorses. Two incompatabiles so add 2 more tanks. :duh:
 
plah831 said:
Sorry to confuse you! You have to remember that the store is in it to make your money. Plus their employees are usually there for less than 6 months, and make way too little money to care in most cases.

The fresh fruit and veggies are appreciated by many fish. They're great for regularity (e.g. relieve constipation) and provide vitamins. Goldfish especially love orange slices and even like playing with the leftover rinds :) Very cute.

Other than what you've listed, there's not much else I can think of that's necessary. The only thing I add to my water on a regular basis are Prime by Seachem (a tap water conditioner that also detoxifies ammonia). Oh, yeah, and plant fertilizers for my live plants, but tha'ts a different story.

You may find it handy to keep some salt around, in case of ich. I don't keep medications on hand because I don't use them much, and they would probably go bad before I needed them.

Another great thing to have, especially if you have a lot of tanks or larger tanks is a Python No Spill 'n' Fill. It hooks up to your sink to let you drain or refill the tank with an easy turn of a switch.
Click to expand...
if you are going to keep salt make sure it is not table salt you can use non iodized salt or aquarium salt. Just wanted to specify. But plah is right really no need to keep meds around.
 
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